Saturday, September 17th:
My child is a true champion. What he has been through, no child should ever have to go through, and I am so thankful that he has been able to communicate with us throughout this entire ordeal b/c I believe that has made him understand that we are here to help him get better and heal his "boo-boo."
This morning we are feeling more relief. Jack slept through the night for the most part, other than a few groggy interruptions for 3 blood draws, which they took from his fingertips and he hardly even noticed. The redness in his groin area has significantly improved and the swelling has also gone down, so much so that his pain has decreased and his range of motion is better. He is even sleeping on his side with his legs together and sprawled across me, as opposed to only on his back with his legs somewhat in a rigid straddling position.
The main concern left at this point is whether or not there is an abscess developing at the incision site. Unfortunately that spot is still a dark red and is also firm to the touch. It is also the most tender for him right now. The surgeon should be making rounds this morning, and we hope he tells us this is normal and not a sign of abscess. If all goes well, we are hoping to go home tomorrow.
Flashback to Wednesday, September 14, 2011:
Jack was with GRandi at Aunt Suzi's house. Not too long after lunch GRandi changed Jack's poopy diaper. At that time she noticed a half golf ball-sized "lump" in his groin area along the line of his pubic bone. Aunt Suzi also saw it, and they both thought it might be a hernia. When GRandi got back to her house with Jack, Daddy was already there, so GRandi told him about it and Daddy immediately changed Jack's diaper again to see for himself. What he saw worried him enough to call Mommy and freak out a little bit. It was about 4:50PM, and I knew our pediatrician's office would be closing, so I called and made an appointment for first thing the following morning. Then I headed over to GRandi's b/c we were going to eat dinner there anyways.
When I arrived at GRandi's, Jack was playing almost like normal, but a little slower and walking more bow legged than usual. He was riding his bike and shooting baskets and playing in the sand box. I didn't want to startle him, so I did not look right away at the area. Instead we just went about with visiting, dinner, etc. After dinner, Jack was trying to slide off the couch and he said "ouchie, hurt!" We asked him where he hurt and he said "in my diaper." We asked if he wanted to take off his diaper and he did, so I layed him down and carefully removed his shorts and diaper. What I saw was unbelievable. What had been a half golf ball just a few hours earlier was now bigger than a baseball and spread out through the entire right side of his groin and down into his scrotum. It was so swollen that his penis was pushed completely to the left and touching his left thigh! Yes, we panicked. GRandi took Jack up for a gentle bath, and I called the 24-hour Nurse Line at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta (CHOA). The nurse asked me a few quick questions, but then she said she wanted us to contact our on-call pediatrician to determine if we needed to go to the ER or if we could wait until our appointment the next day. She paged him for us and told us in the mean time to lay him down for 20-30 minutes and see if the swelling went down while he was in a horizontal position. When the on-call pediatrician called, he also asked a series of questions, but he seemed most concerned with how we described the color of the affected area, stating "well, it could be a hernia, but I'm more worried about infection based on the discoloration." He told us to go to the ER right then.
Jack was unable to walk. He was clearly in a lot of pain, pain that had increased very quickly in a matter of just a few hours. He fell asleep in the car on the way from GRandi's to CHOA. When we arrived there I carried him into the ER while Brett parked the car. I am not sure if it just happened to be a slow night, but either way, they got us in pretty quickly to triage. The triage nurse wanted to give Jack Loritab, but we refused b/c even though he was in pain, we felt that mostly his crying and distress was a result of being scared and tired. They took his temp and he had no fever. Shortly thereafter we were in an exam room and an ER doctor entered.
We'll call him "Dr. ER." From the moment he stepped foot into the room I felt uncomfortable with him. His demeanor was somewhat cocky and insincere. Brett was holding Jack in a chair in the corner of the room, and all we did was pull down the front of his diaper for him, and from 3 feet away while on his cell phone, Dr. ER said "oh yeah, that's a standard hernia." From there he started ordering an IV and Morphine, and he told us no matter what Jack would need surgery but that the first line of defense was to manually push the bowels back through the weakened lining so they would not die and actually have to be removed. This was completely overwhelming for us, and it all happened so quickly. First they gave him a nasal squirt of a medicine called Versaid, which is an amnesia drug, and if nothing else did, I hope that one worked b/c what was about to come was beyond words...Next thing ya know we were holding Jack down on a table while they put a line in him, not once but twice since they "nicked the vein" the first time. Then they dosed him with Morphine and began manipulating the "area."
The Morphine seemed to act slightly like a stimulant, and after about 20 minutes, it was clearly not effective. Jack was screaming and kicking and writhing in pain as Dr. ER pressed and squeezed and practically mutilated his entire groin area, scrotum and lower abdomen to relocate the bulge and hold it "in" where he thought was the weakness in Jack's stomach lining. He was not satisfied with his 1st attempt, so he insisted on dosing Jack again with a 2nd round of Morphine and trying for another 25 or so minutes. Brett and I were both feeling sick. I had Jack's arms and Brett was holding him down by the top of his knees. I was singing to him, our little lullaby, "Chugga-chugga choo-choo, night-night to you..." and I was talking softly trying to get him to look in my eyes and focus only on me. It was the absolute worst moment of my life. I was so angry and terrified at the same time. I hated this doctor, yet he was who I was supposed to trust! The monitors were beeping out of control when Jack would get agitated, his heart racing, and when we questioned Dr. ER, his reaction was curt and I felt like he was irritated with me. I just wanted my baby to be okay!
After 45 total minutes of manipulation, Dr. ER finally consulted a surgeon. Dr. Surgeon1 commented on the discoloration, asking if the redness had always been there or if it was just from the manipulation. Dr. ER said it was just from the manipulation, but Brett and I both reminded them that we came in b/c we were directed by our pediatrician that the discoloration could be an infection. Dr. Surgeon1 also mentioned that the location of the supposed hernia was "off" from where it should be. He decided Jack needed emergency surgery to repair the hernia. He was very kind and informative, but also in a hurry b/c he had left a surgery in progress to do the consult with us. Dr. ER left the room and on his way out stated to Dr. Surgeon1 that "it was a huge hernia." I responded, "hmmn...that's strange, you told us it was a standard hernia." He gave me an eat shit look, and then left the room. I was livid, but I turned my attention back to Dr. Surgeon1, who was genuinely concerned and who I was confident would do all he could to help Jack.
We were then given some time to comfort Jack while another OR person came in to answer some questions and move us to another room to wait again. At 12:26AM, Jack was wheeled away from us down the hall for surgery. He was crying and calling for us, and Brett and I just stood there, helpless, fragile, alone, both so sad to see our boy in such misery. The anesthesiologist had talked to us beforehand, and we had decided that Jack would receive a coddle in addition to the general anesthesia, which was like a mini-epidural to help with pain control after the surgery and allow for a little less of the gas. I hated this idea, but he and Dr. Surgeon1 both talked to us and answered our questions, so again, I felt confident with their advisement. The surgery was to be about 30-45 minutes, and Dr. Surgeon1 would come talk to us as soon as it was over...
We were waiting in a tiny holding room on a dead corridor of the surgery floor. There were no patients, no staff, and there was no activity around us. Brett was on the bed and I was in a chair in the corner. The TV was on and I was messing with my cell phone, but neither of us were really doing anything but watching the clock. 30 minutes passed. Then 45. I couldn't take it. I got up and walked out in to the empty hall and pressed my face up against the small panel window of one of the big double doors that said "only authorized personnel beyond this point." Nothing. No one.
I paced back and forth for roughly another 5-10 minutes, and then I saw the doctor come out. he pressed a button and the doors opened, but he turned the other way when he saw me. "Please! Just tell me if he is alright!"
"He's fine, it's fine, be out in a minute to talk to you." And then the doors closed again, and I saw through the window that he was on the phone...
About 10 torturous minutes later Dr. Surgeon1 and his intern came into our holding room to tell us the news. There was no sign of hernia, no weakness in the lining, nothing! In fact, all that was there was a damaged lymph node that had become "friable" during the manipulation, and he had removed the "crumbles" and cleaned things up a bit. The working diagnosis was Lymphadenitis, which means inflammation of the lymph node, probably due to the body's fighting response to an impending infection. They decided to put Jack on a broad spectrum antibiotic (Clindamycin) and treat it as bacterial as opposed to viral just in case. We didn't know what to feel. Mostly at that moment we were angry! Our boy had an unnecessary operation! And Dr. ER had not even considered the possibility of a lymph node over a hernia, despite the information we gave him from our on call doctor who was concerned about infection, and in fact, he never even mentioned it! Dr. Surgeon1 agreed that technically the surgery was unnecessary, but he also believed that based on how it presented from the time he entered the picture, it was a potentially life-saving operation.
We finally got to see Jack again, and as they wheeled him into his room I noticed right away he was warm, feverish, and I was right. They had placed a warm blanket over him b/c "sometimes after surgery they are shivering," but my instincts said take it off! Whether he developed the fever from infection or as a side effect of the surgery, we didn't know. Jack was groggy and scared, but mostly he slept while Brett and I vented to Jack's night nurse and got settled in. Brett went home to let the dogs out and pick up a few things, and we felt lucky to live so close...when he got back it was about 3:30AM, and we sat up talking and upset and still in shock for awhile longer. Overall Brett got about and hour and a half of sleep, and I managed to doze off for about a half hour.
Thursday was tough. We really didn't understand what was going on with Jack's infection. At this point, we were not even sure he had an infection. We just knew he did not have a hernia and he did have a swollen lymph node that had now been partially removed. We thought we might get to go home, so as the morning wore on we were waiting for someone to come tell us something, anything. Jack was in pain, and he was still very traumatized by the events as well as just wiped out in general. Around 11AM our surgeon did his rounds and told us that we would for sure be here another night, maybe even longer. We were disappointed, but mostly, b/c we had no real answers, we were nervous. Jack spent the day resting a lot and now that we knew we'd be here another night, we had some visitors.
Around 6PM we took him for his first "wagon walk" in one of the CHOA wagons that you can wheel around with the IV poles; it is nice to be able to get out of the room and they have lots of fun and stimulating places to visit. Grandma was with us at this point. We ventured down into the Garden and Jack got to pet some of the service dogs. He was really feeling bad at that time, so this was especially nice for him. Then we went to The Zone and saw the beautifully colored fish in the Koi Pond, and Mommy and Daddy played a little basketball together that Jack got to watch from his wagon. Jack was completely uninterested in getting out of his wagon to see anything up close. Any sort of movement was terribly uncomfortable for him.
When we got back to the room, we knew Jack was wet, so we had to change his diaper. We decided to undo the diaper while he was sitting in the wagon and then just set him into a new one in the bed. As we opened the wet diaper though, we noticed that the swelling in the area was worse and the redness had significantly spread, almost an inch further outward on the right side, all the way across his abdomen to the left side, back down into the scrotum and even up towards his belly. We called the nurse, who agreed it was worse, and she paged Dr. Surgeon1 who would be in around 9PM.
For about 2 hours Brett and I freaked out in our own ways. Brett sat in the corner of the room by himself, panic-stricken and sick to his stomach, and I distracted myself with facebook and emails and talking to my parents. Around 9:15 Dr. Surgeon1 came in. He took one look and decided we would immediately change things up and add 2 more antibiotics to Jack's IV. The working diagnosis was now Lymphadenitis with Cellulitis, which is an infection of the skin. He said it was still somewhat unclear what could have brought this on, but likely it was staph or strep, which lives on your skin anyway, but can sometimes enter your body through an opening in the skin such as a scrape or a bug bite. It was still odd how the swollen lymph node was the first symptom to appear, but at least we were starting to have some answers. Dr. Surgeon1 decided he would consult with Infectious Disease (ID) to confirm the antibiotics, and he said an ID doc would visit us in the morning. Brett and I were on a roller coaster of emotions. We were relieved to know it wasn't something worse like cancer, but we were were angry about the operation and how Jack had been treated by the ER doc. We were grateful to Dr. Surgeon1 for being so responsive to our concerns and affirming that what we were seeing truly was worse, but we were so sad for Jack and all his discomfort. It was just a nightmare.
That night they drew some blood to get a baseline for measuring his white blood cell levels during our stay. They also would culture the bacteria to see if it was something they could definitively determine. Jack did great during the procedure. He was so brave and so strong. Daddy sat with him through it, and I sat on the other side of the room. Daddy has a way of helping Jack to be calm and brave about things like that...
The new antibiotics were working, and by the next morning when Dr. ID came Jack seemed to be a bit better. Dr. ID answered some questions, pretty certain that it was staph or strep, and he mostly offered us reassurance that we could not have predicted or prevented this from happening. It wasn't that we missed one too many baths or he picked it up from school. It wasn't something contagious, and it certainly was not life threatening. We asked him if a hernia would have been worse, and he said that although typically the hospital stay is shorter and the treatment exact, an incarcerated hernia, like what was believed to be wrong with Jack, is dangerous and could potentially be fatal. We felt better. In some strange way...
Friday was busy and tough on Jack. He had moments of smiles, but he still had no interest in moving. Daddy had to work so he was gone most of the day, and my Mother came to stay with me and Jack at CHOA. Unfortunately, Jack's hand was swelling where they put the IV line, and after an attempt to "flush it," they decided they needed to do a new one on the other hand. My poor, sweet boy, once more he was so brave, but this time I held him close and talked to him whilst they poked him yet again. They did a much better job this time, thank God.
Later that afternoon, Grandma and I took Jack on another Wagon walk, and since he had seemed somewhat better we asked him if he wanted to get out or stay right there. "Stay right here," he said. And he meant it. Grandma and I played some b-ball and took some pictures, and then we pulled Jack in the wagon dragging his IV pole behind him, back to the room. Jack watched TV, mostly a Chuggington DVD from Grandma, and rested for the remainder of the day and evening.
Friday night we were told that Jack would have 3 blood draws during the night and 3 med drips. One of the meds required an oral of Benedryl beforehand due to a side effect called "Red Man Syndrome" which can be hives or itchiness and severe redness, mostly on the face. Only once or twice did we notice Jack actually changing color from this, both on his face and his scalp, but other than that he had no further reactions. They did the blood draws at 11:30, 1:30 and 3:30 and his meds were at 12, 2 and 6. They also came in to check the IV and his vitals every hour. It was not a great night for sleep...but something else happened. Jack started moving his legs while he slept, draping them across me and turning on his side! His pain was decreasing! The meds were working!
On Saturday we anxiously awaited for Dr. ID from ID to return and give us some good news that we would indeed be going home on Sunday. He said that Jack would need to take some oral meds first to prove that he was able to, since oral Clindamycin is known to be one of the most foul tasting drugs, and many kids just can't keep it down. He planned to order it for the first round to be taken later that night. Dr. Surgeon1 also sent in his partner, Dr. Surgeon2, to examine Jack's surgery site and give his opinion on when we could leave. Dr. Surgeon2 did not believe the an abscess was a threat, but he said he wanted Jack to be walking around and eating before he could go home...and we just happened to be going in that direction.
Mid-day players from the Gwinnett Braves were in The Zone visiting the children and signing hats. Ironically, Grandpa had brought Jack a Braves stuffed plastic-surface baseball the day before, so we put Jack in the wagon and wheeled him down to see the them. Cousin Brookie and Uncle Scott were visiting during that time, so they came along. Daddy asked all the players to sign Jack's ball before we realized there were hats, but then both Brookie and Jack got hats signed too! Then we went outside again and this time, Jack wanted to get out of the wagon to "shoot" baskets! He was a bit unsteady at first, like muscle atrophy had set in while he was immobile, but Daddy lifted him up and he scored! Then he also wanted to walk to the Koi Pond and play some mini-golf. It was challenging for us with his IV pole, but we stayed as long as we could manage before we felt he was just dong too much. Back in the room, Jack was moving around and walking and climbing on the bed and the couch and basically keeping us on our toes trying to chase him with his IV pole. It was the best feeling knowing he was on the mend, but we were both nervous wrecks trying to make sure he did not injure himself further!
To add another element of "ouchie" to this, Jack has had a chronic condition since he was a newborn with the skin around his circumcision becoming irritated and needing vaseline or antibiotic ointment to help it heal. Our own Pediatrician has told us for nearly 2 years that it was basically normal and some kids have more sensitive skin than others. I think it was Saturday night that Jack got a small red spot around the rim of his penis and I started worrying that perhaps that could have been the entry point of his infection. I had mentioned this chronic condition to all the docs and nurses so far, but it wasn't until it actually began to flare up that I started to worry and believe it. During his Sunday morning visit, Dr. Surgeon2 addressed my concern and noticed that Jack had what is called "Penile Adhesions." The skin around the head of his penis was actually fusing to the tip, most noticeably during an erection. The red "tearing" we were often seeing was actually the skin attempting to do what it was supposed to do by stretching during an erection and then retracting back into small folds of skin, but we had been treating it like it was supposed to be connected there. He went ahead and decided to correct this problem now, and quickly pulled back the skin all the way, fully exposing the head of the penis and showed us what it was supposed to look like. He instructed us to do this with each diaper change and apply Bacitracin (prescription Neosporin) to it for about 2 weeks until it finally healed the proper way. Jack of course screamed in agony during this "procedure." The skin is very sensitive and raw since it has never actually healed. Dr. Surgeon2 said that not all doctors would know this, but a pediatric surgeon who performs circumcisions would be more likely to catch it. All in all, he did not feel our Pediatrician was remiss, although Brett and I know how much we have discussed this during regular check-ups, and we have some mixed feelings that we will need to address. Regardless, we are SO GLAD to finally KNOW how to correct this! We are just so bummed that poor Jack has to have so much going on in that area all at once. It is unusually cruel to him...to say the least.
So Sunday was the big day. They disconnected his IV and gave him the oral meds, which he took b/c they flavored the Clindamycin with some strawberry syrup and the Bactrim isn't that bad anyway. We took him to the playground. He still had the IV port in his hand, but he was free from the pole...and LOVING it. He got to move around and "dribble with Daddy" and play mini-golf and see the fishies. He was still a little unstable at first, but he quickly readjusted and was running, climbing and jumping. We were again, nervous wrecks watching him be so active!
Finally around 3:30PM they removed the IV port form Jack's hand. Then they told us to get packed up. Daddy loaded the car while I went over the discharge instructions with the nurse. The day had gone by SO SLOWLY, so we were beyond ready to go. We made one last stop in the gift shop to buy Jack a "souvenir" (he picked out an ambulance to go with his London bus and school bus that were given to him as gifts during his stay), and then we got in Daddy's truck and headed for the longest 5 minute ride EVER home.
Once in our condo, Jack was all over the place. We were getting settled in and realized that we left the Chuggington DVD in the hospital room. Daddy left to go pick it up and then hit the pharmacy. About 15 minutes later Jack strained while playing and began crying and saying his "band-aid hurt." I put him flat on the floor and at the same time he had a massive all liquid diarrhea, and then he swiped his hand across his face and gave himself a bloody nose. I opened his diaper to reveal more swelling near his incision site and down into his scrotum. I panicked. I called Brett, who was leaving the hospital again, and he came home before going to the pharmacy. Jack was crying, but then he fell asleep from pure exhaustion right there on the floor. Now home, with no nurse or doctor to run to, Brett and I felt a new kind of uncertainty and fear. We put a new diaper on Jack and put him in bed, and then we just tried to calm ourselves down, determining Jack was just doing too much too soon. We were glad he was sleeping.
Brett left again for Publix only to find out the pharmacy closed at 5! We needed Jack's medicine by 10! He came home and we called CHOA, who then called in the prescriptions for us again, this time to a 24-hour CVS pharmacy. Around 7, Brett went to pick them up. While he was gone, Jack woke up and when Brett got home we were just cuddling in the rocking chair together. The Falcons game that we were supposed to have been at was about to begin, and we were going to finally sit down and relax, make a pizza, even drink a few beers. Brett set the medicine on the counter, but it was somehow off balance. The entire bag fell to the floor and busted the bottoms out of both bottles of Clindamycin! The Bactrim was okay, although the cap had busted. We were cursing and crying and freaking out! Now what??? Why is this shit happening to us? all our fears and feelings came flooding out, and we were not helping Jack any by being so upset. We put him back in bed and otld him everything was okay while we cleaned up the mess, wiping the sticky white liquid off the floor and cabinets where it had generously splattered. Yuck! Among other 4 letter words...
I called CHOA and they called in the meds a 3RD TIME. Brett went to get them, but this time we had to pay out of pocket b/c insurance rejected the 2nd claim for the same medication. Jack and I started a pizza in the oven. I screwed it up and baked it with the cardboard still on the bottom. I cried about it. I called Brett and he stopped yet again at Publix on his way home from CVS. The Falcons game was recording on our DVR. Brett was not listening to the radio or answering calls from friends on purpose so he would not know the score.
By the time the pizza was ready it was time to give Jack his first dose of Clindamycin. We wanted Jack to eat, but he was no longer hungry, probably since it had taken so long. I'd given him some other snacky stuff in the mean time. The med mixture was much different than what we had in the hospital. It came pre-mixed with cherry flavor, but I knew from wiping the first 2 bottles off my floor that it smelled putrid, and this was not going to be easy. Long story short, after we held him down and forced the first 2 ML down his throat Jack threw up all over his own face. We raced him into the shower to clean the medicine and his vomit from his eyes. Poor boy cried and cried and screamed and screamed. It was torture on us as well. We were fighting and blaming and arguing with each other, not handling the crisis well at all! But we had to do it. We just had to. We tried it with Gatorade, we mixed it with juice, we bribed him with candy and mints. We tried again and again to restrain him, but he was so strong and so against it. Finally Brett got in the tub with him and wrapped his legs around him while I leaned over and forced it into his mouth. This mixture with blue Gatorade stayed down...this time. Then we put him to bed and I went to bed too. Brett watched the end of the game...a win.
At 4AM we woke up to give Jack his 1st dose of Bactrim. He was startled, but groggy enough not to fight it too much. Plus it wasn't that bad tasting. We dreaded the 7AM dose of Clindamycin, but alas, the time came. Poor Jack. He threw up again as soon as we put the first tiny squirt in his mouth. Back to the shower. And that was that. I was not going to give it to him again. My poor baby had been through enough. I got on the phone and had Dr. ID paged. He was awesome and decided Jack's 2 doses in the hospital were enough for now and prescribed Augmentin to go with the Bactrim from here on out. I can't tell you how relieved I am about that.
Brett had to go to work, so Jack and I ventured out to CVS. Jack fell asleep in the car, so I put him in bed when we got home and he slept for about 2 hours. GRandi came over to play with him and help out for a little while and she and I gave him both his meds together. It was hard to convince him they would not be bad, but once we got started he took them like a champ! Then later Grandma stopped by, and I got to take about an hour nap while she took Jack outside for a bit...
Jack is having lots of diarrhea so we are having to change his diaper more often than normal, which means we are also having to attend to his penis more often than ANY of us would ever want to. He is no longer complaining of any soreness in his groin around his incision, but it is still pretty firm to the touch and swollen. The infection is controlled now, so the meds are the hardest part there. As it just so happens the last and most painful part of this entire ordeal is dealing with the penile adhesions! I'll spare you the details, but it is absolute torture for him right now, although we know it will get easier and less painful within a few more days. Add to that equation a sore bum and bad rash from all the diarrhea and you can guess how much fun Jack is having...
In conclusion to this epic story, Jack is getting better. He is going to be just fine. He is strong, healthy, vibrant and totally amazing! He has cooperated and communicated with us every step of the way; he is certainly advanced in his understanding of what is going on. I felt like as long as I was honest with him and explained things to him he was okay with it all, even the painful and scary stuff, b/c we were there with him. We keep telling him everything we are doing is to make his boo-boo all better. He seems to get that. He is so loving, so forgiving, even after our direct contribution to his suffering; somehow he knows it is only meant to help him.
I wish I could be that forgiving. I am angry. I am sad. I am FURIOUS about this. I am also in shock and disbelief. It seems surreal. I can't believe this has happened. I can't believe my baby has been through this. I keep telling people it is the kind of thing you see other people "post" about, but you think "that won't happen to us." And then once again, the irony of timing...we had just finished an application to get Brett and Jack off my work insurance and onto their own policy to save about $200+ per month on the same day we went to the ER, answering all the medical questions with an emphatic "no," totally confident we'd be approved. Thank God this happened when it did b/c my insurance policy through work has a lower deductible and better co-insurance % than the new policy. We are re-thinking our plan to switch now, of course.
I can't really elaborate too much more on my feelings right now. That is another post for another time. Brett and I are both just so exhausted, and we need our own time to recover now that we know Jack is okay. I have to go back to work tomorrow, and I need to go to bed.
One thing I can say, and I'm sure no explanation is needed with this, but this experience has been the worst in my life. As a parent, my all-time low was reached the moment Dr. ER began "manipulating the area," while Brett and I dreaded, yet allowed this form of torture. Every moment of Jack's pain since has been salt in our wounds. I'd rather someone stab me in the heart and twist the knife a million times than want this for my child. And what Jack went through is considered minor in the grand scheme of illnesses treated at CHOA.
Our saving grace was God's healing and the love and support from so many friends and family who have reached out to us offering comfort and prayers. It is truly overwhelming to know how much we are loved, how much our sweet Jack is loved. Thank you all so much...so, so much.
We are told Jack can go back to school on Thursday, and we have a follow-up appointment with the original surgeon in 3 weeks. I'm thinking Jack can go back to gymnastics next Monday, but I'll make a game time decision then. For now, I am just so thankful to have my little Jack-Bo on the mend and looking forward to all the adventures we have planned for this fall...
...and all Jack can talk about is going to the Falcons "put-bawl dame!"
Soon, baby boy, I promise. October 9th, we'll be there. "Gooooo Falcons!"
